It has been reported that there are currently 400,000 factory jobs that are going unfilled because employers cannot recruit qualified and reliable employees. It does not appear that this issue has been considered by the Trump administration as it touts the idea of reshoring. I have reported previously that while 75% of Americans support reshoring, only 25% want to work at the jobs that would be created. This is another one of those myths that has been generated by Republicans that does not stand much of a chance of resulting in any significant improvement in jobs for Americans.
As the Big Beautiful Bill progresses through the Senate, it is hitting numerous negative rulings from the Senate Parliamentarian on a wide variety of issues, including the provision inserted in the House requiring a bond to be posted if the Federal Government is sued and an injunction is sought, as well as cuts to Medicaid which were approved by the Senate after recasting them to meet the requirements of the Senate Parliamentarian. The bills returned to the House will be exciting with lots of bluster, but I believe it will reach final passage.
We have also seen, although it may now be moot, a resolution presented by Representatives Khanna and Massie in the House and one defeated in the Senate sponsored by Mr. Kaine restricting the use of military force without a vote in Congress. This is an important issue as the war powers have largely been usurped by Presidents going back to Kennedy. Congress must reclaim its role in this process.
The events in Iran have been, to say the least, hard to follow. The most confounding to me are the reports which have come out recently indicating that it is unclear whether or not damage was done to the Iranian program sufficient to inhibit in any meaningful way the development of a bomb. If the Iranian process has only been pushed back a couple of months, why would Isreal agree to a cease fire when their goal, which is to stop an Iranian nuclear weapon, has not materially been achieved? Is there another deal in the offing that the Iranians would agree to which would inhibit or prohibit the development of a bomb, or after dropping bunco busters, the Israelis realize that they have no other weapons available to them outside of a nuclear attack to stop the Iranians.
A memorable quote from Mr. Trump about Mr. Obama stated, “Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly – not skilled!” I guess the quote applies to Mr. Trump as well, and when one looks at the Russian/Ukrainian war and the failure to deliver any substantial trade deals within “his” window of time, it seems only appropriate that he be deemed to lack negotiating skills as well.
Apparently, the Trump administration is thinking about challenging the 1974 statute which limits the authority of the President to defer or refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress. This is a core constitutional question since it’s clear under the constitution that the House of Representatives and the Senate hold the purse strings and that the House must initiate spending with the Senate confirming. Mr. Trump and his cronies believe that this law is unconstitutional as it impinges upon the President’s authority, and there may well be a conflict between the two provisions in the constitution. I suspect this Supreme Court will side with Mr. Trump since they are true believers in the unitary executive, which thrusts most of the power in the Federal Government to the President. We have long understood that there are three branches of government which temper one another, and this is a substantial philosophical change and one which upends several hundred years of history between our coequal branches of government.
Consumer spending declined in May by 1/10th of 1% for the second time in 2025, with core inflation rising 2/10ths of a percent, while GDP contracted in the last quarter by 5/10ths of a percent. All surprises, more confusing economic data. Good luck to Mr. Powell.
Justice Roberts whined about attacks on the judiciary. He needs to look in the mirror for the cause.
Canada caves on the digital tax, but will it save a reasonable trade deal?
As reports come out of DHS regarding deportation, one of the more interesting statistics is that only 6% of known murderers – that is known to DHS – have been deported. Is DHS afraid to pursue these people because they are, in fact, dangerous, and so they go for the easy pickings, if you will, those who are largely defenseless and not likely to resort to violence? It seems that way.
The New York Times published an op ad by an Alaskan Republican and an Alaskan Independent who were greatly troubled by the Big Beautiful Bill’s cuts to Medicaid. This is interesting to me because it is Republicans who are saying that this is not a good outcome, which is, of course supported by Senator Hawley as one of the more notable objectors in the Senate. This Medicaid issue could be something which comes back to bite a large number of Republicans in the next election, and it’s hard to understand why they would move in that direction other than the donations they will receive from the beneficiaries of the tax cuts. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them to make up for the potential lost votes among those who receive Medicaid.
China continues to outmaneuver Mr. Trump, as even after two weeks of the latest agreement, the Chinese authorities are dragging out approval of Western Companies’ request for critical components, generally referred as “rare earth minerals”. This is all part of the Chinese strategy which Mr. Trump and his cronies fail to grasp and is well within Chinese control. They are highly likely to continue the process. Will this destroy the deal, and trade tensions reemerge? I suspect they will.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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